Adrian Anderson quits AFL role

AFL chief Andrew Demetriou says he fully expects other sports to throw big money at Adrian Anderson, who quit on Wednesday as the AFL's football operations manager.

Anderson announced his shock departure at a media conference flanked by Demetriou at AFL House.

While Anderson was at pains to steer the conversation back towards how much he enjoyed his nine-year stint in the unpopular role of "footy ops", the talented sports lawyer would be an attractive prospect for other codes.

AFL club North Melbourne is looking for a new chief executive, having failed to poach Geelong's Brian Cook.

The ARU is also chasing a new boss, and Demetriou said he wouldn't be surprised if the 15-a-side code went south in their search for a replacement for John O'Neill.

Former high-ranking AFL official Ben Buckley made the leap to a rival code to head up Football Federation Australia. Buckley has since stepped down and recently been replaced by former NRL boss David Gallop.

O'Neill served as FFA chief in between stints with the ARU, highlighting the trend of key officials moving from one football code to another.

Demetriou's second-in-charge Gillon McLachlan knocked back a lucrative offer in 2012 to take over the NRL.

"Adrian, like several others, have been approached by various codes over the past few months and it hasn't surprised me because they're all talented and they've got a wealth of knowledge," Demetriou said.

The league chief said Anderson had played a major role in many reforms including the issues of anti-doping, the tribunal and free agency.

"I feel I've done most of the key things I wanted to do in this role and it's time for me now to do something different," Anderson said.

"I've got a couple of ideas but it's not something I'm going to rush into.

"I haven't had any discussions with North and I haven't made any decisions about what I'm going to do next.

"I don't think it's appropriate now to speculate on what I might or might not do. In due course, I'll make an announcement about that.

"I'm not burnt out and I'm looking forward to my next challenge."

Anderson acknowledged the nature of the AFL football operations job meant he had been required to make unpopular decisions.

"It's been an incredible privilege for me to work in this role for our great game," he said.

Demetriou said he hadn't thought about any possible replacements for Anderson.

Anderson joins other senior executives including Rod Austin and Christina Ogg among those to have recently announced their departures.

"It is unfortunate and it is a coincidence," Demetriou said.

"You can't keep talented people together."

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